Sleep difficulties

Sleep deprivation not only affects a child’s learning, behaviour, mood and health but also the physical and mental well-being of the whole family.

All children have sleep difficulties at certain times in their life, but disabled children are more than twice as likely to have problems with sleep, so if this starts to become a problem, you may need to seek advice.

Some sleep problems are common with certain impairments, so you need to take account of this if your child’s has a diagnosis.

However, the large majority of sleep problems are behavioural, so there's a lot you can do. Visit the Scope website to find out about tips and strategies for tackling sleep problems.

If the sleep difficulties persist after you have tried out the most common advice for overcoming this type of problem, it might be time to get specialist support, as without help, sleep problems can continue for years.

There are various organisations who can support parents whose children have sleep difficulties.

Scope’s sleep solution service aims to help parents whose children have sleep difficulties. To find out more about this free service email sleepsolutions@scope.org.uk.

NANSA has been funded offer a specialist sleep counselling service for Norwich and South Norfolk CCG registered families. The NANSA Sleep Service is a project that aims to provide support for families with children ages five and under, with special and additional needs, who are experiencing ongoing sleep disturbance issues. Referral to this service is via a paediatrician. You can find out more about this service on the NANSA website.